US:A week before Iowa holds the first caucuses in the 2008 US presidential election, Democratic and Republican candidates have returned to the campaign trail, trudging door to door to pick up last-minute support.
In Iowa, the Democratic race is an intense three-way contest between senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and former senator John Edwards, while the Republican focus is on a battle between former governors Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.
Mr Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor who is leading the Republican field in Iowa, had the best photo-opportunity yesterday, bagging a pheasant during an early morning shooting expedition. Mr Huckabee, who likes to contrast his modest background with that of the multi-millionaire Mr Romney, said he had been hunting since the age of 11.
Victory in Iowa would allow Mr Huckabee to write off a poor result five days later in New Hampshire, where his brand of folksy, faith-drenched politics plays poorly, and work towards good results in South Carolina and Florida later in January.
Mr Romney, who has spent millions of dollars, much of it from his own fortune, on his campaign in Iowa, was in New Hampshire yesterday trying to fend off a challenge there from John McCain, who has been rising in the polls in recent weeks.
National Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani is ignoring the early-voting states, banking on a victory in Florida as a springboard for February 5th, when almost 20 states vote on what is being called "Super-Duper Tuesday".
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton started a swing through Iowa aimed at contrasting what she sees as her preparedness to be president with the alleged lack of experience of her rivals, particularly Mr Obama. Mrs Clinton has played down her confidence about winning Iowa but her campaign is hoping that Mr Obama's rise can be halted on January 3rd.
The former first lady yesterday picked up an endorsement from Georgia state representative Calvin Smyre, an influential African-American politician who leads the National Black Caucus.
Mrs Clinton is battling with Mr Obama for the black vote, which could be crucial in a number of primaries, notably in South Carolina, where the two candidates are running neck and neck.
Both Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama could probably survive defeat in Iowa but failure to win would almost certainly doom Mr Edwards's campaign. The former Democratic vice-presidential candidate has cultivated Iowa voters energetically ever since his election defeat in 2004, hoping that an early win could allow him to replace Mr Obama as the strongest Democratic challenger to Mrs Clinton.
Mr Edwards yesterday released a new television ad aimed at closing the deal with Iowa voters, promising to use the "enormous power" of the US presidency to stand up for ordinary Americans against special interests.